Together, we respond to Christ's command to share the Good News and serve our neighbors -- across the street and the world.

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          Jesus' command to share the Good News is most explicitly found in the Great Commission, recorded in the Gospel of Matthew:

• Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV): "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

          In this passage, Jesus commands His followers to go into all the world and share the message of salvation. The call to make disciples "of all nations" emphasizes that the message is not limited by geography or culture but universal, meant for "across the street and the world." 

          Jesus also commanded His followers to love their neighbors, which naturally extends to serving them. This is most powerfully stated in the following passages:

• Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV): "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

          Loving our neighbor as ourselves is a direct command from Christ, and this love is often most clearly expressed through acts of service. 

          The statement emphasizes the collective nature of responding to Christ's commands—"Together, we respond." This is in line with the New Testament's teaching on the Body of Christ:

• 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (NIV): "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit to form one body... Now if the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason stop being part of the body."

          The Church is described as a body with many parts, each working together in unity for the common purpose of glorifying God and fulfilling Christ's mission. This unity in diversity enables the Church to effectively share the Good News and serve others, with each member contributing their unique gifts and resources.

          Finally, the scope of the Christian mission, "across the street and the world," is echoed in the Acts of the Apostles:

• Acts 1:8 (NIV): "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."